


Even Villains Love Their Kids (Not!)

by KitkatDragon



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Evil, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, parents are terrible
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:02:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26106907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KitkatDragon/pseuds/KitkatDragon
Summary: Fairy Godmother had a sneaking suspicion about the way the VKs had grown up after seeing how they interacted in the "Special Treat" on Family Day. After the Coronation, she teams up with the other fairies to show the people of Auradon what life on the Isle of the Lost was like, and how much it had changed during the past 20 years. Rated T because of mentions of abuse and self-harm
Relationships: Ben/Mal (Disney: Descendants)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 92





	1. Even Miracles Take A Little Time

**Author's Note:**

> This is only based on the first movie, not the sequel movies or books. I hope you enjoy the story! Now, I’m only doing the disclaimer once so here it is.  
> Disclaimer: I do not own Disney’s Descendants (both the books and movies)

Fairy Godmother’s suspicions first began to appear when she started to teach the children from the Isle of the Lost lessons in Remedial Goodness 101. She knew that life had to have been rough on them, what with having villains as parents and such. But never in all of her years of teaching had she ever encountered students like them. 

It was like they were born with these evil instincts. The boys answered her questions with the wrong answer every time, Evie seemed disinterested in every topic they covered, and Mal was just...Mal. She answered questions correctly but it was like every answer was a strategy tactic in a game of survival. 

But she ignored her worries. After all, everyone deserves a second chance. And she had helped many people leave their darkness behind them and follow the path of light, as cheesy as that might sound. If anyone could get these kids to be good, she could...right?

Then she had the “brilliant” idea to try and make the kids feel at home. Since Family Day was coming up, FG (Fairy Godmother) thought that she could arrange for a special video chat between the VKs and their parents. In hindsight, she realized maybe that wasn’t the best thing to do since Prince Ben wanted the kids to change their ways, and being in touch with their parents was probably counter-productive. 

All of them were rude to her, which was expected but also disappointing. None of them seemed to have changed in the slightest, besides the fact that Cruella somehow got even crazier than she was when she was sent to the Isle.

Which was why she had to commend Carlos on having the nerve to defend a dog against his mother. But he shouldn’t have had to. He shouldn’t have felt like he needed to explain why he didn’t want Dude to be turned into earmuffs, or that he loved that dog. It should have been obvious to his mother that he felt that way. But it wasn’t. 

Out of all of the parents, Evie’s mom was the only one who seemed genuinely happy to see her daughter again. But after she told Evie how beautiful she was, the ex-queen had to go and compliment herself. Other than that, Evie seemed to be more on edge due to the other parents than her own, which FG still wasn’t entirely sure if that was a good sign or not. 

But she could see why. If Jay hadn’t turned off the monitor, FG probably would have. Throughout the entire call, Jay seemed so indifferent to his father, as if the ex-Vizir wasn’t even there. Even when he said “you children are never far from our thoughts,” Jay hardly reacted at all. It was only when Carlos was talking to his own mom that Jay reached out a hand, either wanting to comfort the younger boy or maybe stop him from saying something he’d regret later on. 

And Mal looked miserable when her mother said her name and acted both cold and distant when she spoke to Maleficent. But polite as well, and FG could only wonder The girl’s mother began to act all sappy, saying things like “how long must mommy wait to see you?” and “you! That little nugget that I miss so much.” 

Even FG could see through the act. Clearly, something was going on, but FG didn’t have the heart to question any of the teens after her ‘treat’ went awry. So she just chalked it up to the parents wanting to put on a show since she was still in the room with the children. 

It made total sense after all of the events at Coronation. FG shook her head as she sat down at her writing desk. So many plots had been going on right under her nose, and even her own daughter played a hand in it! Those poor kids wanted so badly to make their parents proud and were so scared to choose to be good because of how afraid they were of their parents.

No child should be scared of the people who are supposed to love them. And Mal looked so sad when her mother shrunk down due to the lack of love in her heart. Everything had been broadcasted too, and some of the people of Auradon were scared of the VKs and wanted them to leave. The rest were unsure of how they felt. 

Something had to be done. So FG got out some parchment and began to write a letter to her fellow fairies, who were the only ones who could help her. It’d been a while since she had performed magic (Coronation aside), and with such a big spell, she needed all the magical help she could get.

Flora, Fauna, Merryweather, the Blue Fairy, and, of course, Tinkerbell had once been the closest friends she’d ever had. They had all gone through fairy training together and made a vow to help one another if needed. FG hoped they hadn’t forgotten their promise and that they were able to come. If her plan was to work, she’d need it to happen sooner rather than later. 


	2. We've Arranged For A Special Treat

“Dorothea! It’s been far too long!” Blue exclaimed as she embraced Dorothea (aka FG)*. She looked exactly like she had in  _ Pinocchio _ , except for a few more wrinkles, her blue dress had been exchanged for a light blue pantsuit with dark blue accents and her wings were nowhere in sight. Instead, she had a golden butterfly brooch that could summon her wings anytime she wanted. All fairies had them to make life easier.

Tink’s was an emerald butterfly, Flora’s was made of rubies, Fauna’s was emerald too but a different shade of green and Merryweather’s was composed of sapphires. And all of the women wore very business-like outfits based on the same color theme that their dresses from the “old” days.

“I agree, Blue,” Tink nodded her head in affirmation as she hugged Fauna, followed quickly by Flora and Merryweather. “I’ve missed you, girls.”

“Not that I haven’t missed all of you guys too, but could you tell us what we’re doing here?” Merryweather asked as she hugged Dorothea, who gestured for everyone to take a seat and grab a cup of tea.

She tried to explain the situation as calmly as she could, but there were times when she had to pause and take a breath, occasionally dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. Just thinking about those poor children, and all the other ones still trapped on the Isle, made her want to cry and give all of those kids the biggest hug. 

“That’s so devastating. It makes my heart bleed for them,” Blue had neutral feelings when it came to the Prince- sorry, King Ben’s Innocence Project. But when news spread about Family Day at Auradon Prep, and when everyone watched how the VKs acted at Ben’s coronation, it was devastating to think about. Especially when Blue saw that Mal had to fight her own mother. “But what can we do about it?”

“Well, that’s where my plan comes in.” 

* * *

“Might I ask why we have all been summoned? Not that I mind coming to my daughter’s school, of course,” Aurora was a little hesitant to come by, especially with her mother, after hearing about the mess that was Family Day. It wasn’t because she’d be meeting the daughter of Maleficent, after all, you can’t choose your parents. No, it was the fact that Aurora didn’t want her mother anywhere near the purple-haired girl in fear that there’d be another confrontation. 

“Yes, I must admit I’m fairly interested to see what’s going on,” Cinderella commented. Her and her husband, along with Chad had gathered in the Tourney Field. As had Snow White, her husband Florian, and their daughter Sammy along with all of the dwarves and their wives and children. Aladdin, Jasmine, their twin children Ali and Jeanie were there as well, along with Anita and Roger with their daughter Patricia. Coach Jenkins had been summoned as well, and of course, Jane was there. Not to mention Ben, his parents, and the VKs (including Dude). 

“I, along with my fellow fairies, want to show all of you something. Something that may change the way we look at the villains who were banished to the Isle of the Lost. But more importantly, this will hopefully change the way all the people in Auradon view the children of said villains,” Dorothea could feel her heart pounding as she spoke, afraid that someone would try to cut her off. “Everyone here is an important, influential member of this society. I want word to spread about what you will be seeing today.”

“And what exactly will we be seeing?” Grumpy asked in his usual grouchy tone. He’d had to bring his wife, Carlotta, and their teenage son Gordon to Auradon Prep without any knowledge of what they were doing. And he did not like the idea of being near the children of villains, especially that Evie girl, any longer than he had to. 

“With the use of our combined fairy magic,” Tink butted in. She knew how much Dorothea despised confrontations, and, depending on how they reacted, a confrontation between the parents and the VKs could be inevitable. “We will show everyone here, with the children’s permission, what life on Isle was like for each of them. We’re only doing this because, after the Maleficent fiasco during King Ben’s coronation, tension is running high. The people of Auradon need to know the truth, and who better to tell them the truth than the families of those affected by the children's’ parents?”

“Yes, but like we said, unless Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos agree, we will call the whole thing off and hope everything blows over with time,” Blue added. All eyes fell upon the VKs, who had been seated in the first row beside Ben and his parents as well as Jane, Doug, and Coach Jenkins. 

Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos all looked at one another. They were close enough to know what each other were thinking without having to say a word. After a minute or two of complete silence, Mal nodded her head. “If you think it will help, go right ahead.”

“Now hold on just a second! We’ve seen what life on the Isle produces; these kids who wanted to steal  _ your  _ wand, Fairy Godmother. They should be sent right back!” Chard exclaimed. Cinderella looked at her son in shock before she locked eyes with her husband. 

They both had tried so hard to raise an understanding son, what with Cinderella never being understood with her stepmother. To hear Chad not even consider giving other teens a second chance. 

“I’m sorry, but the only people we were looking for permission just gave us the okay. So please sit down and keep quiet,” Merryweather sent a look at Chad before she, Flora, and Fauna raised their wands. Dorothea got hers out, as did Blue and Tink, and the six fairies placed their wands together. 

_ Ancient Magic from Times of Old _

_ Listen to our beckoning plea _

_ Let the True Story be Told  _

_ Of the Children of Our Enemies _

_ Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos _

A large white screen magically appeared, like a giant screen TV. After a moment or two, images appeared on the screen, memories being shown as if it were a movie. And the first movie to play was Evie’s. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *FG’s name is Dorothea because I had to call her something other than Fairy Godmother. There was a thread on Disney Wiki so that’s what I’m calling her for the remainder of this story.  
> \- Kitkat Out!


	3. Can You Blame Me? I Never Got No Love

***** Regular font **is used for the present, meaning it’s the commentary and thoughts of the kids and their families who attend Auradon Prep.** _ Italics _ **is what’s playing on the screen/memories of the VKs***

_ “Evie, darling! Time for your makeup lesson!” Grimhilde (aka the Evil Queen) sat at her dressing table, with different makeup kits and tools surrounding her. Five-year-old Evie ran into the room, wearing her worn-out blue dress, her hair put in pigtails. And she had a toy doll dangling from her hand that had seen better days. “Mummy needs you to put your doll on the table to practice on.” _

_ “Why do we need makeup, Mommy?” Evie asked. Grimhilde sighed before she lifted her daughter up and placed Evie on the stool next to her. “You’re already pretty.” _

_ “I know, darling, but not everyone else knows. You remember that story about my horrible step-daughter, Snow White. Everyone forgot about dear Mummy. But I won’t let that happen ever again. And I definitely won’t let her outshine you, my dear,” Grimhilde stated.  _

Snow White sighed in disappointment. She had been hoping that her step-mother would be a better mother to Evie, maybe even forget about trying to be the ‘Fairest of Them All’. But apparently, that was not the case if she was already giving beauty lessons to her daughter when she was five. Florian seemed to know what she was thinking and grabbed her hand and held his own daughter, Sammy, closer to them. 

_ “Though I hope you realize that I am the most beautiful woman alive. If you’re lucky and the poisoned apple doesn’t fall from the tree, then you’ll be the second most beautiful woman. And beauty is power,” Grimhilde continued.  _

_ “It is?” _

_ “Yes. If you’re beautiful, then richer, powerful men will want to marry you. And if you can catch a prince, then you’ll never have to work a day of your life. And there’ll be a mother-in-law wing as well, filled with mirrors for me. But until then, you’ll make sure that every potential suitor thinks you love to cook and clean like that Snow brat,” Grimhilde grabbed a brush and began to apply blush to her cheeks gesturing for Evie to do the same.  _

_ “Yes, Mommy.” _

“So that’s why you were so desperate to get with me,” Chad stated, loud enough for everyone to hear. Doug, who was sitting in the seat right behind Evie, gave her shoulder a quick squeeze to try and comfort her. She turned around and smiled softly. 

“Chad, if you say something rude towards one or more of those children one more time, you’ll be grounded for two weeks,” Cinderella snapped. 

Sammy White couldn't help but laugh as Chad was scolded by his mom. She had gone to Evie to ask if she’d make her an outfit for a dance her parents were holding, and even though this was the daughter of her mother’s enemy (and technically her step-aunt) Evie was nothing but warm and friendly towards her. So when it came to the VKs, she was all for them being able to live normal lives despite their heritage. 

And Sammy knew, as did the whole school, that Chad was a jerk who used smart, pretty girls, to do his homework before breaking their hearts. And he definitely deserved to be grounded for longer than two weeks.

_ “Mommy, I got an A on the homework from school!” Evie exclaimed, now eight-years-old. Grimhilde sighed and looked down on her daughter as Evie ran into her mother’s room. “Are you proud of me?” _

_ “Sweetheart, here’s another life lesson for you; don’t try to be smart. Men love being stronger, and they also love being smarter. The way to get a boy to like you is to pretend you’re dumb. Getting A’s won’t impress any princes, dear,” Grimhilde stated. “I’ve been meaning to Castle School you anyway, so we can get started right away on learning what’s really important.” _

_ “Oh,” Evie looked devastated, like she was going to burst into tears at any second. “Ok, Mommy.” _

_ “Don’t cry, Evie,” Grimhilde picked up her daughter and dried Evie’s tears. “It’s not becoming and makes your whole face turn this ghastly shade of red.” _

“For a moment I actually thought she was going to comfort Evie,” Happy commented, ironically not feeling very happy at the moment. His wife, Greta, wasn’t very happy either. She looked at her young daughter Harley (who was the same age Evie was in that last memory) and had to hope watching this would teach her not to let boys change her. And that her older son, Howie, would never try to change a girl either. 

“Poor dear,” Doug’s mother, Lisa, was all for her son’s relationship with Evie. She (and Dopey) both agreed that a child’s lineage did not mean they would end up just like their parents. But Lisa had thought that Grimhilde would treat her actual daughter better than she had treated Snow. She leaned over to her husband and whispered, “remind me to tell Doug that Evie is allowed to come and spend the break with us.”

Dopey nodded in agreement. Unknowingly, most of the other dwarves had heard and most of the wives were already planning little activities to do (since the dwarves all live on the same street as one another with their families, as did Snow, Florian, and their daughter).

_ The four parents gathered with their children, right after their song Rotten to the Core.  _

_ Grimhilde sat down with her daughter as Maleficent explained the plan. “Evie, my little Evil=ette in training, you just find you a prince with a big castle and a mother-in-law wing.” _

_ “And lots and lots of mirrors,” Grimhilde and Evie said in unison. Evie laughed out loud, but quickly stopped with her mother gave her a stern look. _

_ “No laughing! Wrinkles!” Maleficent went on to discuss the details of the plan, with Cruella and Jafar interrupting as they didn’t want their children to leave them. Grimhilde seemed fine with it, except for one little detail. “Evie’s not going anywhere until we get rid of this unibrow, huh?” _

“What unibrow?” Sammy asked. Evie turned around and shrugged. 

“My mother sees flaws in everyone, even if they’re not really there.”

“Did I mention that I love you very much, mom?” Sammy asked as she curled up next to Snow, who smiled and kissed her daughter’s forehead affectionately. 

_ Then Grimhilde gave Evie the magic mirror, with her little comment about finding her waistline.before she began to pack makeup into a bag for Evie to take with her. “Now, who’s the fairest of them all?” _

_ “Me?’ Evie asked. Grimhilde seemed to be taken aback, and Evie looked like she was about to change her answer when Grimhilde finally spoke again. _

_ “Ah. You. Yes. Let’s go.” Grimhilde watched as her daughter got into the limo. While Jafar wanted gold and Cruella wanted a puppy, there was only one thing she really wanted out of this plan, and that was not world domination. That was more of Maleficent’s thing. “Bring home a prince!” _

As the screen went dark, silence fell upon everyone as they took in what they just saw. Evie ducked her head, anxious to see what else everyone had to say. Dough noticed this and entwined his hand with hers. “You don’t have to snatch a prince to prove that you matter. You’re beautiful, and not just on the outside.”

Snow stood up and headed straight for the row Evie was in. The fairies looked on nervously, desperate for something to happen that proved they had done the right thing gathering all of the heroes and their families for this event. The other VKs got ready to fight but really hoped it wouldn’t have to come to that.

Snow made her way until she was face to face with the daughter of the Evil Queen. “You know, you’re technically my stepsister. And it would be a shame if we couldn’t act sisterly all because of something that happened so long ago.”

Evie glanced over at Doug, who smiled encouragingly, then at Mal, Jay, and Carlos, who gestured for her to get up. So she slowly stood up and extended her hand only to be pulled into a tight embrace by Snow White, the enemy of her mother. 

“Aw!” was heard from many of the mothers in the crowd as Florian and Sammy brought their chairs over so they too could see with Evie. 

“I’m so touched to see this heartwarming sight,” Dorothea exclaimed. Tink smiled and raised a hand up to stop all of the side conversations. “Now,  onto Carlos’s memories.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Evil Queen’s name has been known by many names, including Grimhilde. I know in Disney’s Twisted Tales she’s called Queen Ingrid but is known as Queen Grimhilde in Serena Valentino’s Fairest of All book and the name was declared canon by Disney at one point. Thanks for reading! Until next time...  
> \- Kitkat Out!


	4. I Feel So Useless, Misunderstood!

_ Carlos, at the age of three, was dressed in a ragged t-shirt full of holes and torn shorts, no shoes, and had dirt all over his body. He was curled up in a cage that looked like it was meant for a small dog, not a small boy. There were metal traps, like the kind hunters use to catch foxes or small hares, surrounding the cage in case Carlos somehow got out.  _

_ There was a small gash on his left arm, the blood still fresh, that indicated that maybe Carlos had tried to get out only to end up getting injured. If you thought it couldn’t get any worse, he was crying his eyes out as a voice was heard off-screen yelling at him.  _

_ “Carlos! If you try to escape one more time, I’ll set my dogs on you!” Cruella screamed. Now, luckily, she didn’t have any dogs on the Isle. But three-year-old Carlos didn’t know that. “You know the rules; until the sun rises, you can’t get out of bed.” _

“Bed? That’s where you slept?!” Anita exclaimed. She hadn’t meant to raise her voice but seeing the way her old school friend treated her son made her blood boil. Roger shushed her and Anita groaned as she wrapped an arm around her daughter, Paige, who Roger had warned to stay away from the De Vil boy. But the blonde pianist was starting to regret his decision as he watched the screen in front of him.

“Did she really have you sleep in there all night?” Ben whispered. Carlos nodded his head. “For how long?”

“Until I outgrew it. Then she let me sleep on one of her stained fur coats,” Carlos replied. He really didn’t like seeing the way things used to be for him. His childhood was definitely not one of happiness.

_ “Carlos! Here’s your chore list! Get this done before sunset or I’ll set baby on you. Yes, I will!” Cruella cooed to her stuffed dog as she handed a nine-year-old Carlos his list. Which was on a piece of parchment that was half of Carlos’s height. When he looked helplessly at his mother, she smacked him upside the head. “Do it or else I’ll let Gaston use you for target practice. Again.” _

_ “Yes, Mother,” Carlos sighed as he began his chores, which included the following: _

  * _Hand Wash and Dry Cruella’s fur coats._


  * Dust the entire Hell Hall.


  * Do all of the dishes leftover from a drunken gathering with Maleficent, Jafar, and Grimhilde. 


  * Vacuum the carpet (with a broken vacuum that coughed out dust in Carlos’ face)


  * Clean the toilets with a toothbrush (there weren’t a lot of cleaning devices on the Isle, so it was hard to get a good cleaner that didn’t turn your toilet green).


  * Go buy groceries (which was hard since he got robbed pretty often until he became friends with Jay, Mal, and Evie)



“That’s so mean!” Paige had been more curious than scared when she first heard the son of her parents’ enemy was going to attend the same school as her. She loved Perdita and Pongo, who were pretty old, and all of their puppies and grand puppies, but when she first saw how scrawny Carlos was, she doubted he’d ever hurt a dog in his life.

When her father told her to stay away, she (reluctantly) obeyed his wishes. Paige vowed that she’d try and get her mom on her side, which didn’t seem so hard since she kept muttering ‘that poor boy’ under her breath, and make friends with Carlos. If he let her, that is. 

_ “Carlos! What the hell have you done?! Get your scrawny ass over here right now!” Cruella, slurring every other word, stumbled towards Carlos. The poor thirteen-year-old was fast asleep on his coat in the corner of the kitchen, actually managing to sleep through his mother’s shouting. Which was understandable considering how often he’d heard her yell, so of course he was used to it by then.  _

_ He blinked his eyes groggily, becoming alert in less than a second when he saw his mother had a knife in her hand. “Mom, whatever it is, it wasn’t my fault.” _

_ “Like hell it isn’t! I found soot on the fireplace! You were supposed to clean it today!” Cruella shouted as she attempted to land a blow, missing by a mile thanks to her intoxicated state. Carlos took that as an opportunity to get away and began to run. He ran faster than anyone would think possible. He clearly had practiced running from his mother before, and him being lean definitely contributed to it.  _

_ Thanks to a lack of food, Carlos was normally under 100 pounds in weight before Auradon, and the less you weigh, the less there is to carry when you run. _

Coach Jenkins felt like an idiot. He’d given up on the De Vil boy on day one, and only let him stay on the team because of Ben and Jay, the latter of whom refused to stay on the team unless Carlos was too. But he had to admit, the boy could run fast. Jenkins just really wished the reason why wasn’t because he’d had to run from his mother so many times. 

He made a vow to make sure to keep an eye on him, and his weight especially. The boy had gained a few pounds, as had all the other VKs since arriving in Auradon but they were still thinner than most Auradon Prep students.

Ben seemed to come to the same conclusion as Jenkins and sent Carlos what he hoped was a reassuring smile. On the day Carlos met Dude, Ben had just assumed that the VK had run that fast out of fear. He wasn’t entirely wrong though; fear seemed to be a key factor in Cruella’s parenting.

And Anita knew it too. Her old schoolmate was even crazier than before and now had a poor child suffering in her care. If she’d known about this, she would’ve petitioned for King Adam to let the children come to Auradon sooner, before the damage of having Villains as parents became permanent. The fact that she didn’t know this, and that Cruella had pulled a knife on her child, made her want to cry and pull Carlos into the biggest hug while whispering that everything would be okay. 

Roger had mixed feelings about it all, on the fence about whether he should feel guilty. At least until he saw what happened next on the screen. That was what made him know without a doubt that he’d made a mistake and should’ve done something, anything, to make him feel welcome, even if all he could do was not ban Paige from talking to Carlos.

_ “Worthless. Scumbag. Dirty. Stupid. Ugly. Useless. Burden.” Carlos whispered these words as he used a dagger he’d gotten from Jafar’s ship on his pale wrists, covered in previous scars from past attempts. “Unloved. Unneeded. Unwanted.” _

_ He cried but was completely silent. There was no gasping of air, no audible sobbing, no sound whatsoever. It was like he had trained in crying silently as if he thought he’d be reprimanded for showing emotions. And that probably was what he thought. And it was probably a terrible reality as well.  _

_ Then he stopped, put his dagger in his pocket, and pulled his long sleeves down. He always wore long sleeves, on the Isle, and at Auradon Prep too.  _

“After this, don’t think for a second that we aren’t taking you to the infirmary to get you checked out,” Dorothea stated in a calm, collected voice. Which was the exact opposite of what she was feeling. She didn’t know what the memories were going to be shown. Now that she did, she was certain this was a good idea. 

But that didn’t make it hurt any less to see how those parents treated their children. And they hadn’t even seen Jay’s or Mal’s memories yet!

Blue sighed and clasped a hand on her friend’s shoulders. She wasn’t as close as Dorothea was with the VKs, but that didn’t matter. What she saw made her terribly upset. It hurt her to think that any parent could hurt their child in that matter.

And Tink, well, she didn’t meddle in human affairs often. However, she wanted to reconsider. Seeing all of this made her want to wave her wand and make everything better. Unfortunately, no amount of magic in the world could do a spell that powerful. So this idea of Dorothea’s was the best she could do. 

_ While Maleficent was going over her plans, Cruella interrupted. “Oh, well, they're not taking my Carlos, because I'd miss him too much.” _

_ “Really, mom? You mean it?” Carlos looked up, hope shining in his eyes.  _

_ “Yes. Who would touch up my roots, fluff my fur, and scrape the bunions off my feet?” _

_ “ _ _ Yeah, maybe a new school wouldn't be the worst thing.” Carlos sighed. He’d actually thought, for just a moment, that his mom actually cared. But he should’ve known better. _

_ “Oh, Carlos, they have dogs in Auradon.” _ __

_ “ _ _ Oh, no! I'm not going!” _

Even Chad couldn’t bring himself to insult the De Vil boy. And not just because he didn’t want to be grounded, though that did play a part. He’d had a pretty good life, with servants who did the housework so he never had to play the part of the servant as his mom did, girls who did his homework for him thanks to his natural charms, a beautiful girlfriend (Audrey), and loving parents. Carlos didn’t have any of that. 

But there was no way he would ever admit that he felt sorry for Carlos and almost, almost, wanted to apologize and make amends. At least, not yet. 

Carlos had to admit, judging from Anita’s outburst and the way Fairy Godmother, Coach Jenkins, and even Ben were looking at him, that it seemed like they cared. About him. Even Chad wasn’t being a jerk and saying anything bad to him. He looked at his fellow VKs who, for the longest time, were the only ones who knew how bad his living conditions were. They all knew each other’s stories, knew the long nights spent crying in the dark over how their lives had turned out. And Jay, Mal, and Evie were looking at him with bittersweet smiles.

Because nothing could undo what had been done. Nothing could change the fact that Carlos had felt so useless, misunderstood if you will, growing up. But maybe, just maybe, having the people of Auradon watch their lives would change the future. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally wrote this prior to the unfortunate death of Cameron Boyce (who played Carlos), before he passed from this world on July 6th, 2019. He was an amazing actor and any future Descendant stories I may do will be dedicated to him.   
> \- Kitkat Out!


	5. Your Worst Nightmare Can't Take Me Home

“I’m kind of scared to see Jay’s,” Ali admitted to his father, Aladdin. He and his twin sister, Jeanie, had heard all about Aladdin’s life as a street rat. But judging by how Evie and Carlos’ lives had been like, and seeing how run down the Isle seemed to be, they already knew that Jay had probably had it a lot worse than their dad had. Especially considering the fact that Jafar was Jay’s father. 

“We are too. But if Fairy Godmother thinks it’s important, then we’re going to watch it till the very end,” Jasmine stated. She’d hated Jafar when he worked for her father, and even more so when he betrayed them. Jay, though, well, he didn’t seem to be like his dad. She’d heard from Ali and Jeanie that he was a good Tourney player, a good leader, and was actually a nice guy when you got to know them.

See, Ali and Jeanie were two curious teens that just  _ had  _ to learn more about the son of Jafar when he first arrived in Auradon. And after the events of Family Day, Jeanie had insisted that they go try and cheer him up. It didn’t really work, but after the Coronation, Jay went out of his way to thank the both of them. Which made it even harder when they were told they’d have to see how his life had been on the Isle.

_ Six-year-old Jay skidded to a halt when he saw a brick wall blocking his path. A bunch of teenagers ran into the alley Jay was now stuck in. The eldest boy in the group laughed when he saw the young boy, back pressed against the wall, eyes darting back and forth as if he’d miraculously see an exit out of the mess he was in. “There he is! Little brat thinks he can take our stuff. Let’s show him who he’s dealing with!” _

_ Jay wait until everyone was near him before he smirked and whipped out a small pocket knife before he ducked under the older boys' legs, weaving in between them. He let out a laugh as he outran the boys and slammed the door of his father’s shop open and jumped behind the safety of his father. The youngest of the teens made it there first but he quickly went the other way when he saw the ex-Vizier.  _

_ “Don’t use me as a shield,” Jafar chided as Jay opened up the pockets on his vest and handed his findings to Jafar, his smile fading a bit as Jay was scolded. “Besides that, I see it was a good day. A bag of golden doubloons, all a little beat up but that’s to be expected. A diamond necklace, with a noticeable number of diamonds, missing but it’s a start. And- is that Ursula’s shell necklace?!” _

_ Jafar’s eyes lit up when he saw the golden shell necklace, the same one she had used on the little mermaid all those years ago. Instead of praising Jay, though, he just began to shine and polish it. Jay stood by the door that led upstairs, waiting expectedly. It took about ten minutes for Jafar to realize that his son needed something. “What is it?” _

_ “You said I could eat if I stole something today.” _

_ “Fine,” Jafar sighed as he tossed a loaf of bread at Jay, who missed and watched as it landed on the floor. “That’s all you’re getting from me” _

_. _ Aladdin cursed under his breath, quiet enough so his wife and children couldn’t hear him. He remembered that day in the marketplace when he was running away from the guards, all over a loaf of bread. He was so hungry all the time...and he knew the Isle didn’t have the best of food but he had always assumed the children were put first. 

Clearly that wasn’t the case. The kid was six, around the same age Aladdin was when he was cast out onto the streets, forced to steal in order to survive. The fact that Jafar, who looked like he had a semi-profitable store, full of stolen things the original owners probably had to pay double the price to get back, yet still refused to feed his kid, was sad. 

No, not sad, horrible. Heartbreaking. Despicable. The lowest of the low. The most rotten thing someone could ever do- well, you get the point. It made Aladdin think of his own father, Cassim, who wasn’t the best dad in the world. But he still tried. He showed up to Aladdin and Jasmine’s wedding, despite the risk of getting caught.  ***Watch** **_Aladdin: King of Thieves_ ** **to know what I’m talking about***

To see that poor boy, with a dad who was there physically but mentally checked out for his entire life, made Aladdin want to punch Jafar. More so than he usually did whenever he thought about all the things the ex-Genie had done to him.

_ “Now, son, you know how your old man has some enemies, right?” Jafar asked his ten-year-old son as he walked down the filthy roads of the Isle, trash everywhere, the buildings all run down. Jay nodded his head and Jafar patted his bag. “Good. Because maybe that’ll help you understand the deal I’ve made.” _

_ “What deal?” Jay asked. They turned around the corner and came face to face with the Mistress of All Evie, the Evil Queen, and Cruella De Vil with their kids, Mal, Evie, and Carlos standing behind them. Maleficent took a step forward and peered down at Jay. _

_ “Are you sure your son is capable of watching out for my daughter? Because if she gets a scratch on her, our deal is off and you will have no protection from me, EQ, or Cruella should your old foes decide they want you to repay their debt.” _

_ Jafar nodded his head nervously and shoved Jay forward. “Introduce yourself.” _

_ “Um, I’m Jay,” Jay stuck out his hand. Mal looked at it, then at him, then at her mother. Evie walked over and shook his hand, as did Carlos until finally, Mal did too. “So I’m supposed to protect you guys?” _

_ “Yep, and then your dad gets protected from our moms,” Evie announced. The parents went to walk back to Mal’s house, and left the four kids there, standing awkwardly without saying a word. “What do you guys wanna do?” _

_ “I have some spray cans. We can do graffiti art,” Mal suggested. The four kids shrugged and ran off, all the while Jay kept quiet as he thought to himself. _

_ ‘How am I supposed to protect a bunch of kids when I’m still a kid too?’ _

“I want to hug him so much!” Jeanie whispered to Ali. Ali had to agree as he put an arm around his sister. She was only a few minutes younger, but he’d always seen himself as her big brother, someone who was supposed to protect her. However, Ali had always had his parents to count on to help him do that. He couldn’t imagine trying to take care of her all by himself. “I don’t think he’d like that very much, would he?”

“Probably not,” Jasmine chimed in. Her maternal instincts were kicking in double time over this boy, who had that same look Aladdin had in his eyes when they’d first met. That look of loneliness, that empty void inside of him, that yearning for acceptance, for someone to care, it was a painful reminder of how Aladdin once was. Before they fell in love, back when his self-worth was practically non-existent. He’d always wanted his father in his life, so he could be proud of him. 

And when he met the Sultan, he’d been absolutely desperate for his approval of their marriage. Even after the whole ‘Jafar had a Genie then became one’ fiasco, Aladdin had done everything he could to get Jasmine’s father to like him. 

Seeing the resemblances made Jasmine’s heart go out for the teenage boy. And like her daughter, she also just wanted to give him a big hug. But Jasmine knew better. So she just watched, hoping that, somehow, Jay’s situation had gotten better. 

_ “But Dad, I tried!”  _

_ “Tried means you failed to succeed. And you know what that means,” Jafar grabbed Jay, now fourteen, by the cuff of his vest and yanked him outside. In the pouring rain. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” _

_ “Dad-” Jay was cut off by the sound of the door slamming in his face. He sighed before he curled up by the door, trying to stay close enough to the building so the roof would protect him from the rain. Though it didn’t really help much. _

_ He just had to pray the son of Gaston and Captain Hook didn’t drop by. He remembered an event that happened several weeks ago when he’d had to protect Mal from them when she rejected Harry (Hook’s son). They’d been furious and Jay had to enlist Carlos’s help in leading them away from Mal and Evie before Jay and Carlos managed to lose the boys.  _

_ At that point, Jay knew who to mess with and who not to mess with. Some people he could rob without fear of getting caught. Others, not so much. Like the daughter of Ursula, Uma. She was not someone to mess with. Nor were her goons...which include Gil (Gaston’s son) and Harry.  _

_ But luck was not on that poor boy’s side, because as luck would have it, Gil and Harry chose that moment to show up.  _

_ “Aw, did daddy kick you out again?” Harry teased. Gil smirked and crossed his arms as Jay reluctantly stood up, subtly getting a small dagger out of pocket. “Not that this is much better than sleeping on that ratty old carpet of yours.” _

_ “Leave me alone.” _

_ “What are you gonna do? Cry again?” Gil mocked. Jay just sighed before he whipped out his knife. Long story short, it was two against one, but Jay was tough. At the end of the night, all three boys had plenty of bruises, though Gil and Harry had a bunch of cuts that Jay didn’t have. _

“That’s it, we are inviting this boy to dinner,” Jasmine stated. She didn’t whisper it, but at that point, she didn’t care what anyone else had to say about it. In fact, she wanted them to hear, especially Jay.

Jay actually  _ did  _ hear it and had to say that he was kind of touched to hear the Arabian princess say something like that. He’d heard Anita and Roger talking about Carlos while his memories were playing, and had a feeling Carlos would be receiving an invitation to their house too. When Jay had agreed to show his memories, he had thought that nothing would change the minds of heroes who had fought against his dad and the other VKs parents. But to hear them all rally behind the kids, to see Snow White come over and hug Evie, talking about being like sisters, made him feel...loved. Which was not something that he felt very often. 

And Jay hadn’t noticed it at the time, but Coach Jenkins was actually sitting behind him the whole time. He only realized this when Jenkins clasped his hand on his shoulder sympathetically. He turned around to see his coach wearing a concerned expression on his face with what looked to be a hint of anger in Jenkin’s eyes. “Coach?”

“I’m here for ya, kid.”

_ Like with Carlos and Evie, when Maleficent and the other villains were scheming after the kids had sun Rotten to the Core, Jay’s interaction with his dad wasn’t like any other normal father and son.  _

_ After saying something about needing Jay to stock the shelves for his store, he went on to express his disappointment in Jay for not finding a lamp with a Genie in it. Jay’s face had a disheartened look on it before he blinked and put on his signature poker face.  _

_ ‘Don’t let him know it hurts,” Jay thought as he began to shove stuff into a bag for his trip (because it was Maleficent’s plan, he knew he was going to have to follow it whether Jafar wanted him to or not). _

_ “Now, recite our mantra.” _

_ “There is no team in I.” _

_ “Oh, run along. You're making me tear up.” _

Just like with Carlos, Jenkins now understood Jay. He understood why he wasn’t a good teammate in the beginning. He’d been taught that no one else cared for him, so why should he care for anyone else? From his dad, no less, what with that “wonderful” family motto of his. Jay’s behavior when he first came to Auradon made complete sense now, and the coach once again swore he’d look out for both of the VK Tourney players. 

Aladdin did as well, even if he could only do it through his children. 

Ben had to admit, after seeing all of these memories, he had decided he wanted to continue the Innocence Project. He’d make sure to ask his new friends what children they thought should be brought to Auradon next. But he had to admit, he was torn about whether or not he wanted to see his girlfriend’s memories. Mal meant a lot to him, and he was scared to see how bad she had it. 

Then she looked at him with those green eyes of hers with that stunning smile and he let a wave of relief wash over him. No matter what, it was over. Mal was safe now. All the VKs were safe. That was  _ his  _ mantra that Ben kept repeating in his head over and over as Mal’s memories were shown. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have other Descendant stories on ff.net. Username: DragonBookLoverKitkat913 if any of you are interested.  
> \- Kitkat Out!


	6. How Can You Say That, I'm Just Unique

_ Mal was asleep in her crib, only a three-year-old, crying her eyes out. She was standing up, wearing only a diaper and a purple shirt, calling out for her mother. After what seemed like forever, Maleficent finally entered the room, looking completely exhausted and out of place with her horns.  _

_ She leaned down to Mal’s eye level. “Who’s baby is this?”  _

_ “Mama!” Mal reached her hands out and grabbed Maleficent’s horns. “Mama!” _

_ “Not the horns! Good grief, where is your mother- oh, right. She’s mine. Guess I have to feed you, don’t I?” Maleficent groaned as she picked Mal, who instantly stopped crying. “You know, crying is very villain-like. I hope you outgrow this little phase of yours soon. If not...I’m sure EQ would love another little girl to practice makeup on.” _

Aurora sat there, gobsmacked. Yes, gobsmacked. “How on Earth does a mother forget she has a child?”

“It’s Maleficent, what did you expect?” Queen Leah shot back, though even she had to admit that she’d been caught off guard as well. But that didn’t mean she was wrong to judge Mal. No, definitely not. At least, that was what she was going to continue to tell herself for the time being. 

“That’s no excuse,” Philip chimed in. He had heard about his mother-in-law’s outburst and was definitely on his wife’s side when it came to the VKs, especially when it came to keeping Mal away from Leah. “No parent in their right mind would ever forget their child, let alone the fact that they have one.”

“Yeah, definitely not,” Audrey whispered. After seeing Evie, Carlos, and Jay’s memories, Audrey was conflicted. She felt like she had been justified in the beginning. Or at least, she thought she had been justified. Audrey decided she wouldn’t come to a conclusion about whether she was in the wrong or not after she finished watching Mal’s memories. Though honestly how could she possibly be wrong? It was the daughter of Maleficent, who was as cruel as her mother. Right?

_ “She looks just like her mother.” _

_ “She has to be as powerful too.”  _

_ “Mal will be the next Mistress of Evil if Maleficent ever hands down her staff.” _

_ “Of course she is! If I can beat her in battle, then I can be number one! Everyone will know my name!” _

_ Nine-year-old Mal sighed as she walked home with her gang (which is what she called Jay, Carlos, and Evie because villains don’t have friends, according to her mother). Uma and she had just had a major fight and Mal was lucky to have won. Contrary to what everyone believed, Mal wasn’t as strong as her mother, nor did she have the ability to use magic thanks to the barrier. _

_ “What’s the matter, Mal?” Evie asked. Mal shrugged her shoulders. She wanted to say she was tired of living in her mother’s shadow, tired of people always assuming she was “just like Maleficent”, of not being able to be herself.  _

_ “Nothing,” Mal stated as she parted ways with her gang and walked through the door of her home. “Nothing that matters, anyway.” _

_ “Nothing that matters? Sounds just like you,” Maleficent stated as she walked towards her daughter. “Oh, I kid, I kid. How’d that fight go with Ursula’s brat? Shrimpy, wasn’t it?” _

_ “It went fine. I won,” Mal announced. Maleficent cackled that horrible laugh of hers. Mal looked down at the floor for a second before she took a deep breath and glanced up at her mother. “Since I won...I wanted some food…” _

_ Maleficent’s face went from being proud to be furious in a matter of seconds. “You think just because you won, you deserve food?! You’re nothing but a mistake, and I give you a roof over your head, a bad reputation thanks to my years of villainy, a bodyguard, and you have the nerve to ask for food?! You’re so ungrateful!” _

_ “I’m sorry, mom, I was just-” Mal was cut off when Maleficent slapped her face and shoved her daughter to the ground.  _

_ “Villains never apologize. I would’ve thought that being in my presence for so long would have taught you that!” Maleficent screamed. Mal just stayed on the ground, taking it all, and never shed a tear. Because villains didn’t cry, and they didn’t get upset when their mother yelled at them. “You worthless freak! Go to your room! There will be no food for you, not from me. Not today, not tomorrow, or ever!” _

_ “Yes, mother,” Mal whispered as she ran up the stairs to her room. She lay on her bed, willing herself not to cry, and just curled up into a ball, repeating everything her mother had said to her quietly, so as to not disturb Maleficent. “If you don’t screw things up, she’ll be proud of you. So quit messing up and be a villain.” _

“You’re not a freak, Mal,” Ben whispered as he entwined his hand with Mal’s. “You’re just unique.”

Mal smiled softly at Ben. He didn’t seem to be judging her as he watched what it had been like growing up on the Isle. He seemed curious, and a little sad, but not disappointed. Or if he was disappointed, it was aimed at Maleficent and not his girlfriend. 

His parents, the former King Adam and Queen Belle kept glancing at Mal as well, and when Mal’s eyes met Belle’s, the latter smiled reassuringly. It felt...good, knowing that they weren’t going to get mad at her for the way her life had been. Which is what Mal had originally thought when her memories first began to play. 

And Audrey wasn’t either, or if she was, she was keeping her mouth shut. Mal heard the occasional gasps from Aurora and Philip, with a few remarks like “how dare she?” and “the poor girl didn’t deserve this”. It was weird, but a good kind of weird. 

_ “Mal! What happened to you?!” Evie exclaimed as twelve-year-old Mal, covered in bruises and scars, came inside her house. Mal sighed and walked to the kitchen to get some ice. Unlike most villains, Evie’s mom kept food in the fridge along with medical supplies in the cupboards, mostly because being malnourished wasn’t “beautiful to look at” nor were scars and/or bruises. Mal got a bag of ice and put it against her eye. “Was it...was it your mom?” _

_ “I didn’t win,” was all Mal would say. She got into a fight with a villain. Not a villain’s kid. A villain. Aka Ursula, who was tired of Mal beating Uma in every altercation they got into. Hence the many bruises and scars.  _

_ “You should tell your mom,” Evie suggested. Mal shook her head anxiously. “She’d take care of it.” _

_ “No, she won’t. My mom would just yell at how I’m such a complete and utter failure before she realized that Jay wasn’t there to protect me. Then he’d get in trouble with his dad since the deal between our parents would be off. I can’t do that to him.” _

_ “But Mal…” Evie trailed off. Despite the cold front Mal always put up, the purple-haired girl cared about her friends. And she craved her mother’s approval more than anything.  _

_ “It was in the restaurant when it was closed. No one else saw. And Ursula knows better than to tell my mom who exactly gave me these injuries. Nobody needs to know,” Mal stated stubbornly. Evie sighed but agreed to not tell anyone. _

“You got hurt and you didn’t tell us?!” Jay exclaimed. Mal shrugged. “I should’ve been there.”

“Ursula has giant tentacles and is stronger than both of us. It wouldn’t have changed anything,” Mal whispered, trying not to draw any more attention to herself than need be.

Unfortunately, all eyes were on Mal. Aurora could understand the girl’s frustration, and the desire to have her mother’s approval. Growing up, all Aurora ever had were her three “aunts” aka the three fairies. When she met Leah, they were complete strangers that had to get to know each other. It was awkward at first, and Aurora didn’t know much about being a princess, so she kept trying to do and say the right things but ultimately didn’t succeed.

All the princess wanted was to make her new mother and father proud. In the end, she realized her mother was proud of Aurora no matter what. But it seemed like Mal didn’t have the luxury of having a mother like that. 

When Audrey was born, both Aurora and Philip agreed that Leah should play a big role in her granddaughter's life. Because Leah didn’t get to be a parent until her daughter was 16, and she deserved the chance to help raise a beautiful girl as she had planned. Before the sleeping curse. All Mal had was her mother, who was nothing like Leah or Aurora. And it made Aurora even more certain than she had already been that Mal deserved the chance to know what it was like to grow up in a place that wasn’t as worn down as the Isle with people who actually care about her. People who weren’t Maleficent.

_ Maleficent had just gotten done telling the VKs that they were going to go to Auradon when all four of them protested (Evie didn’t really protest as much, it was mostly the other three). _

_ “Oh, you’re thinking small, pumpkin. It’s all about world domination,” Maleficent began to walk, quickly followed by Mal and the other VKs. “You will go. You will find Fairy Godmother and you will bring back the magic wand. Easy peasy.” _

_ “What’s in it for us?” Mal asked.  _

_ “Matching thrones. Hers-and-her crowns,” Maleficent replied. Carlos hesitated for a second before he made the point that Mal was talking about the VKs. “It’s all about you and me, baby. Do you enjoy watching innocent people suffer?” _

_ Mal hesitated for a second  _ (which btw made Ben very happy to see that Mal looked like she wanted to say no but then said yes for her mom)  _ before she replied. “Well, yeah. I mean, who doesn’t?” _

_ Maleficent smirked. “Well, then get me the wand and you and I can see all that and so much more. And with that wand and my scepter, I will be able to bond both good and evil to my will!” _

_ EQ interrupted for just a second before she went back to doing Evie’s makeup. “Our will!”  _

_ “Our will, our will.” Maleficent waved her hand in EQ’s direction, not really looking at the former queen before she snapped her fingers to grab Mal’s attention again. “And if you refuse, you’re grounded for the rest of your lives, missy.” _

_ “What- Mom!” Mal exclaimed before she and her mother had their green evil eye staring contest. Though she tried, Mal could never beat her mother. “Fine, whatever.” _

_ “I win!” _ __  
  


“What was that?” Audrey asked, loud enough for Mal to hear. The VK turned her head to look at Audrey and her family, Leah being the only one who refused to meet Mal’s eyes.

“Family argument. It’s how we settled everything. She always won,” Mal replied before she turned to smile at Ben. “At least, she did. Before the Coronation.”

“That’s impressive, standing up to your mother like that,” Aurora commented as she looked at her mother with a teasing smile. “I could never.”

“Hmph. Darn right,” Leah huffed, though she had a hint of a smile on her face. 

“Well, clearly I couldn’t either, not for a while, anyway,” Mal wasn’t quite sure but it almost seemed like she was actually getting along with Audrey and her family. Almost.

“I actually don’t blame you,” Audrey added. She knew better than to insult Mal with her parents right there, and even if she could bring herself to speak against the VK, she found she didn’t want to. Sure, Mal and she were probably never going to be best friends for life or anything like that, but Audrey could almost see herself respecting Mal. Almost. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story isn’t quite over yet. Two more chapters to go, one of which may or may not show a couple of scenes from the first movie...oops, I’ve said too much. Hope you enjoyed! Until next time...  
> \- Kitkat Out!


	7. Kings And Queens, It's Our Time To Rise

“Now, ladies and gentlemen, we still have a couple of memories left,” Dorothea stated before anyone could stand up and/or leave. “Only two, so it should only take a few minutes.”

“Wait a second, we didn’t sign up for-” Chad was cut off by a stern look from both of his parents. “What I mean to say is...can’t wait for you to show us.”

“In that case, let’s continue, shall we?” Merryweather huffed before the screen began to play a more recent memory. Or to be more specific, it was the “special treat” the VKs had received, aka the video chat with their parents. 

_ Dorothea approached the VKs in Remedial Goodness Class 101. “Children, excuse me. Um, as you know, uh, this Sunday is family day here at Auradon Prep. And because your parents can't be here due to, uh, distance, we've arranged for a special treat.” _

_ The four VKs. walked over to a small monitor, and watched their parents struggle with the technology.  _ (Several of the teens watching the screen had to laugh as they watched four of the baddest villains of them all struggle with something like a video chat).  _ After a few minutes of their parents arguing, they finally saw the children. And Grimhilde was the first to speak. _

_ “Evie, It's mommy. Oh! Look how beautiful. Oh, you know what they say, the poison apple doesn't fall far from the tree.” Evie glowed at the compliment. At least, until Maleficent snapped back with the weed comment.  _

_ Cruella tilted her head when she noticed Dorothea in the background. “Ooh. Who’s the old bat?” _

_ Mal sighed before she introduced the Fairy Godmother to her parents, well aware that they would most likely take advantage of the situation by messing with the fairy. After some back and forth, Dorothea walked over to the side, allowing all four of the children to be in the frame. “Hi, Mom.” _

_ “Mal! I m-m-miss you,” Maleficent stuttered.  _ Belle took that moment to whisper to her husband something along the lines of ‘she’s such a  _ wonderful  _ actress, pretending to miss her daughter’ before Adam had to shush her as the memory continued. 

_ “You children are never far from our thoughts,” Jafar chimed in. Maleficent got an ‘o’ face when she realized what was going on and told the ex-Vizier that she “got it”. _

_ “How long must mommy wait to see you?” _

_ “Um, there’s a big coronation coming up. I think sometime probably after...that,” Mal tried to be as vague as possible, what with FG standing literally a few feet away. _

“ _ When? _

_ “Friday, 10 A.M.” _

_ “You sure I can’t see you before that? I don’t know what I’ll do if I don’t get my hands on that magic wan...you...you little nugget that I love so much.” _

_ “Yes, I completely understand, mother.” _

“Impatient, much?” Philip whispered to Aurora, who just nodded her head in agreement. “And you’re right, honey. She’s a terrible actor.”

_ “Carlos, is that a dog? Oh, yes, yes, baby, I do understand. It would make the perfect size for earmuffs.” _

_ “He’s the perfect size for a pet.” _

_ “Oh!” Cruella exclaimed. _

_ “This dog loves me, and I love him. And FYI, your dog is stuffed!” _

_ “Oh!” Cruella exclaimed (again). _

_ “So give it a rest!” Carlos stated firmly as Jay placed a hand on his shoulder, though whether the taller boy meant it to be comforting or as a warning not to go too far, neither of them really knew. _

_ “Oh-ho! Burn!” Jafar laughed childishly, leading to an argument between him and Cruella before Jay finally shut off the screen. The four VKs walked away and talked about how “proud” their parents would be if they failed. The last thing everyone heard before the screen went blank was Mal saying that the VKs were gonna be goners.  _

“It’s sad that he had to stand up to his mother like that, though I’m kind of proud he had the guts to talk to Cruella that way,” Paige stated. Roger had to agree with that. He’d never been fond of Cruella (duh!) even before the whole fiasco with the dalmatians had begun, but even he never really had the nerve to go head-on with her. Mostly because he knew Anita would be mad. 

“Doing that was probably easier, knowing she was still on the Isle. He felt safe, out of reach,” Anita commented. 

Jasmine just shook her head at the whole mess. Here these villains were, asking their children to do something completely reckless and dangerous, all the while they were acting like a bunch of children. It was completely disgraceful.

“The next memory involves certain people who are currently here, and while I’m certain all of you have heard about this or actually saw it with your own eyes, we thought it was important to show the events of Family Day,” Flora announced, and the screen began to play the memories, despite quite a few protests. It was funny, but the protests seem to be coming from the same people (Chad, Audrey, Leah, etc.) 

_ Okay, we all saw the movie (and if you haven’t, why are you reading a Descendants fanfic, so I’ll just talk about the conversation up until the very end when Ben intervenes between Audrey, her grandmother, and Mal.  _

_ Ben had gotten in front of Mal as if he could protect her from the verbal abuse that was sure to follow. “Queen Leah, it’s okay. Maleficent is still on the island. This is her daughter, Mal. Don’t you remember your proclamation to give the new generation a chance?” _

_ Queen Leah looked positively livid. “A chance to what, Ben? Destroy us? Come on. You remember, don’t you? The poison apples. And the spells. The spells. My daughter...was raised by fairies because of your mother’s curse. So her first words, her first steps, I missed it all! You mustn’t trust her!” _

“Mom!” Aurora cried. Leah had the decency to look at least a little sheepish. “How could you say that?!”

“Because I missed everything with you. My firstborn, my only daughter, and I missed it all!” Leah shot back. Aurora sighed.

“And how is that Mal’s fault? She wasn’t even born yet! And besides, hasn’t she suffered too? Maleficent forgot she had a daughter and didn’t care about those moments like you do. And did Mal and her friends not prove themselves when they saved everyone, you and Audrey included, at the Coronation?!” Aurora was pretty fed up with her mother and was very much regretting bringing her back to Auradon Prep. 

Mal couldn’t believe that Aurora, the woman Maleficent had cursed as a baby and put her through so much, was standing up for her. Against Aurora’s own mother! She glanced over at Ben, who hadn’t really said much since he saw Mal’s memories.

He had a distant look in his eyes

_ Mal looked so sad, so vulnerable in that moment. “I am so so-” Chad cut her off, not wanting to hear another word she had to say. _

_ “Go away! Stay away from her!” Despite Ben’s protests, he continued on. “They were raised by their parents, Ben. What do you think villains teach their kids? Huh? Kindness? Fair play? No way, okay? Uh-uh. You stole another girl’s boyfriend. You enjoy hurting people. And you...you’re nothing but a gold digger and a cheater.” _

_ The whole debacle with Evie’s mirror, spraying Chad, and all the VKs running off was not a pleasant sight. What was even more unpleasant was watching the conversation with King Adam, his wife, and Ben, who had this devastating look of guilt in his eyes.  _

Adam sighed as he watched himself tell Ben, his own son, that the whole situation was his fault when it wasn’t. He reached a hand over and patted his son’s shoulder. “Ben, I’m sorry. It wasn’t your fault.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Ben replied. “I didn’t know it was so run down on the Isle.”

“Neither did I,” Adam admitted. “It wasn’t top of the line, but it was clean and well-built. Trust me when I say the Isle did not look like this twenty years ago.”

Right as Ben was about to say something, like maybe getting someone to help fix up the place or maybe even send the villains somewhere else, he got distracted when he saw Cinderella stand up.

Cinderella decided to allow her husband to deal with their troublemaking son, and walked over to Mal the four VKs, looking at each of them. “I would like to formally apologize for the actions of my son. He does not speak for me, nor does he speak for my husband.”

“I’d like to apologize as well, on both my grounded daughter’s behavior as well as my mother’s,” Aurora got up as well, despite her mother’s protests and her daughter’s complaints. Pretty much every parent (with all the kids except for Chad and Audrey) stood up and gathered around whichever VK kid they felt they needed to apologize to/comfort first. 

Needless to say, it was all a little overwhelming to the teens who had just had their darkest memories revealed, so they all just kind of stood there and listened as the adults overlapped one another.

Dorothea shook her head at the chaotic scene in front of her. “Not exactly the outcome I expected.”

“Maybe not, but it’s not the worst thing to happen,” Blue replied as she and the other fairies sat down. Using their magic after so long was pretty draining, and they all knew they’d have to rest up before they fell from exhaustion. 

“It most certainly is not,” Dorothea agreed. Before she could let everyone go on, she did, however, make sure to tell Ben something. “Don’t forget, your Innocence project isn’t over.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter, and it’s more like an epilogue but I felt like I needed one more chapter after this. Hope you guys have enjoyed the story so far!  
> \- Kitkat Out!


	8. We Got The Keys, The Kingdom's Ours

This is probably the part where you’re wondering, what happened next? Well, a lot happened. 

Ben questioned each VK about who they thought should come to the Isle next, and most of their answers were based on who had it worse there and needed immediate rescuing. Though Ben was told time and time again not to refer to it as a rescue, because “villains don’t need rescuing”, or something along those lines.

His parents warmed up to Mal, offering to let her stay at their home during holiday breaks from school. Aurora would have as well, but Leah was still kind of getting used to the idea of potentially not hating Mal based on Maleficent’s actions. 

Speaking of Aurora, her daughter (and Cinderella’s son) were grounded indefinitely, or at least until they proved they could be trusted to be (if nothing else) civil towards the VKs. 

Cinderella still felt bad, despite Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos telling her she shouldn’t. So when it came time to throw an official welcoming party for the VKs, she was the first to sign up to help.

Yeah, that’s right. A big old party was thrown for the heroes (because if you fight an evil dragon who is either your mom or your friend’s mom, then that makes you a hero) and everyone was invited. Unlike Aurora’s christening. But that is in the past.

Word spread quickly about what all the children of the horrible villains had endured while living on the Isle. And you can bet that there were a whole bunch of apologies at the welcoming party, as well as many “welcome to Auradon and your new life” presents. 

The most generous gifts were the ones from Aladdin and his family, Anita and hers, Snow and hers (including the dwarves), Aurora’s and her, well, you get the idea. There were a bunch of invites to dinners, staying over for the break, sleepovers with the kids, heck, Paige even got Dude a bunch of doggie toys! 

It was overwhelming, like that day the fairies had shown all those memories, but the VKs got past their anxiety and managed to appreciate all that was being done for them.

Mal got very close to Ben’s parents, as I said earlier, and Aurora too. After a while, even Audrey came around. Well, she didn’t try to insult any of the VKs or made their lives miserable, which was a big step for her. After he saw Mal’s memories, their relationship got even stronger, and Mal allowed herself to confide in her boyfriend a lot more afterward. Which just made Ben even more determined to help as many kids escape from the Isle as possible, if just to help avoid them from going through the same pain as his girlfriend. It was his way of coping with the guilt he felt despite not being able to do anything until he was made king. 

Evie got to meet all the dwarves, their wives, and their kids, not to mention she spent a lot of time with Snow White, who acted like her big sister. Evie even got to show off her designs to both Snow and Sammy, both of whom were super proud and helped her start up her business. Doug, of course, played a major hand in the business as well. Those memories, just like with Ben and Mal, made them grow closer to one another. And Doug’s mother loved her (obviously) and taught her some new recipes because Evie loved to cook and had a blast making dinner whenever she was at Doug’s house.

Jay gained two new friends, Ali and Jeanie, who were thrilled when he agreed to hang out with them. He even helps Ali practice for Tourney, so they both could be on the team next year. And Coach Jenkins...well, he was a lot more understanding towards Jay. Not to say he wasn’t as hard on Jay as much as the other Tourney players. But Jay found a father-figure in Jenkins, and with the older man’s help, he managed to get a hold on his anger issues and become slightly less protective over his fellow VKs. For the most part, anyway, because it was still Jay. 

And Carlos was still Carlos, though he was in a lot less pain when Dorothea looked over his many scars. She decided to use her wand (only because she didn’t want Carlos to have any reminders of his life with Cruella) to heal a majority of the scars. After that, Jane got really close with Carlos too, keeping an eye on him both for her sake and her mother’s. So did Paige, who quickly befriended the son of Cruella and they even walked their dogs together. Anita and Roger were like family to Carlos after a few months, also calling and sending him care packages whenever they sent Paige one. And even Jenkins kept an eye on Carlos, always making sure he got enough food in his stomach. 

Everyone, it seemed, made sure all of the VKs had food in their stomachs. Whenever one of them missed a meal, someone was always sure to make sure to drop food off at their dorm rooms. Whether it was Mal just oversleeping and having some strawberries dropped off from Ben (or Audrey, that one time) or Carlos was having a bad day and didn’t feel like eating, every one of them finally quit looking like twigs. 

And Carlos wasn’t the only one to get checked over in the infirmary. All four of the teens had to go, have any past wounds tended to along with a few that came with fighting Maleficent. Trust me when I say no one was happy to hear the VKs hadn’t thought to get their injuries taken care of. Mal had to listen to Ben as he lectured about her safety, but she was still touched despite it all. 

Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos were all touched. Because for the first time in forever, they were cared for. People looked out for them, worried about them. It was new and strange. But it was good. 

As word spread, more and more people, classmates, teachers, and just ordinary citizens of Auradon, all began to care for them too. All because of a certain fairy godmother, who was one of the first to put the VKs best interests at heart. And one of the first to give them a second chance without thinking about who their parents were or what they had planned to do when they originally came to Auradon. Because at that point, it didn’t matter anymore.

Who your parents are, or where you come from, how you’re raised, why you are the way you are, none of it defines a person. What defines them is their actions, and the VKs had chosen good. So their action spoke volumes about their character and proved you don’t have to follow the path your parents did.

  
***To clarify, what you’re about to read is not déjà vu. I just thought it’d be fun to end this chapter the way I started it.*** This is probably the part where you’re wondering, is this it? Is it over? No way! You didn’t think this was the end of the story, did you? Because it’s only just begun. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was the ending. I hope you guys enjoyed this story. I just had this random thought about how the families who fought the parents of the VKs felt about everything that transpired in the first movie. Thank you for reading this, and I hope that everyone who reads this will remember Cameron Boyce for who he was; a warm, friendly person who was one heck of an actor/dancer and deserved a much longer life.  
> \- Kitkat Out!

**Author's Note:**

> All of the titles for each chapter are either song lyrics or quotes from the actual Descendants movie (2015). And the remaining seven chapters will be posted all at once so you don’t have to worry about waiting. Hope you enjoy!  
> \- Kitkat Out!


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